The Commitment
by GeekMom
Summary: Castle's been absent. Character study set somewhere in the spring of Season 2. I like to create back-stories for these wonderful characters and give them opportunities to flesh out their "off-camera" lives a bit. Marlowe & Miller et al own Castle and my heart. I only own my imagination, creativity, and excitement.
1. Chapter 1

Castle waited for the elevator doors to open. He was balancing two take-out cups of coffee, his raincoat, a box of doughnuts and an advance copy of Naked Heat. The doughnuts, coffee, and book were peace offerings. He had been shirking his ride-along duties lately. If you could even call them duties. He was debating with himself on the proper nomenclature when the elevator doors opened.

He walked into the bullpen of the homicide squad of the twelfth precinct with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Beckett looked up as he came to settle on his chair. "Hey," she said absently then did a double take as she noticed his demeanor. "It must have been a great meeting."

"Hey," he said handing her one of the coffees. "Why do you say that?"

"I don't know. You're kind of…glowing. Thanks for the coffee."

He raised his eyebrows, "Glowing?"

"Yeah." She eyed him suspiciously, as he schooled his face. "What's all this?"

"Well, I know I've been missing a lot lately with the launch meetings and other stuff. So," he presented the book, "this is for you."

Ryan and Esposito came out of the break room. Espo eyed the doughnuts. "Castle, what's going on?"

"Hey guys, It's just, look I know I haven't been around much lately and it's just a little way of apologizing for my absences."

"Where have you been?" Ryan asked, reaching for a doughnut.

Rick shrugged, "Boring publishing and other book stuff. Nothing exciting, no girlfriends, or anything." He chuckled apprehensively.

Esposito cocked his eyebrow. "Uh huh. I don't know, bro, I don't think a couple of sweet pastries are going to be enough for the, um, bribe." He picked out a Boston Cream doughnut from the box. "I mean really, aren't doughnuts a bit cliché?"

Rick looked at him under hooded eyes. "What would be a sufficient penance, Espo?"

Ryan piped in, "Floor seats at the Knicks."

"Guys. Would you really play on my guilt at having to be gone?" Beckett rolled her eyes. He continued, his words dripping with sincerity, the color of his eyes intense, "would you take advantage of that?"

Espo said, "Yup." Ryan finished with, "no problem." They did a complicated fist bump, clapping their right hands twice while wiggling their left hand fingertips together and smiled and took their doughnuts back to the break room.

"Fine." Castle agreed. He turned to Beckett, "What's going on here?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Absolutely nothing. The boys were even cleaning out the break room fridge." They nodded as they headed for coffee for their doughnuts. "I'm consolidating computer files."

"Wow, exciting," the sarcasm oozed off his tongue. A little hesitantly, he asked, "do you need me here?"

It was her turn to raise an eyebrow, "I always need you," she looked at him through her lashes. "But, if you have somewhere else to be, I'll understand." She pouted slightly, but if he noticed, he didn't let on.

"Okay, I could do with getting some writing done," he said completely oblivious. He was up and heading toward the elevator so quickly it made Kate's head spin.

Esposito and Ryan, who sometimes seemed like they were joined at the hip, came back out of the break room in time to see the cloud of dust settle in Castle's wake.

"Hey, was that Castle leaving?" Ryan asked.

"Yup. New movie title: here and gone in sixty seconds." She shook her head.

"Had somewhere better to be?"

She tilted her head, "Espo, are you complaining because our unpaid, volunteer consultant may have something more productive to do than shoot paper ball hoops with you?"

"Well, no, I, no I mean, not if you put it that way. It's just weird, ya' know, used to be we couldn't get rid of him."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," she said to reassure them, but she began to wonder. He had really been gone a lot lately. Had the shine finally worn off following the squad around? He seemed enthusiastic when he was here, but at the same time, anxious to leave. She glanced at his chair and frowned. It was empty.

* * *

He stepped into the hallway from the warm mid-April sunshine. He always felt renewed when he came back to Susannah's class. He would not stay away so long between visits.

"Mister Rodgers." She came up from behind him.

"Susannah, it's Rick, remember?"

"Rick. It is so wonderful to see you again so soon. We thought you might have forgotten about us."

"Never," he smiled, "just my day job, keeping me busy. How have things been here?"

"Same old story," she looked at him for acknowledgement of the pun. He crinkled his eyes for her. "Ya' know budget cuts, kids getting in trouble, parents who don't care…"

He held up a hand, "Really, Susannah, don't sugar-coat it for me." She rewarded his humor with a full-on genuine smile. He returned the favor. They arrived at the library. It really was not a library; it was more of a coat closet that had been converted with, ahem, acquired shelving courtesy of abandoned milk crates. It shouted poverty, but Susannah had put her own resources into making it into as much of an escape as possible. Rick smiled, broadly.

"I got the donation from that organization you recommended."

"Kids need to read?"

"Yes, great people."

He looked at the newly acquired books. Books of all different genres and reading levels. She had done a great job getting these for the kids. "Anyone taking advantage of this great selection?"

"You know my policy, a book a month."

"As long as they're sticking to it." Rick perused the newer titles. "Oh, I love this series. I used to read it to Alexis." Turning serious he asked, "Susannah, what do you need?"

She smiled and answered, "Just for you to keep coming and reading…"

"You know I could donate…" he began, but she cut him off.

"Rick, as I've said before, the kids just need positive role models, people who really care about them and accept them as they are."

Rick nodded. She had said it before, many times. "Well, what are we reading today?"

They made their way to a brightly lit room at the end of the hall. There was a rolling desk chair in front of a worn shag carpet. A dozen or so kids sat on or around the carpet. The kids came from all walks of life. There were two things that drew them together: their love of books and their labels. This group of kids had fallen through the cracks in public education. There were kids with special needs, but public education offered no special solutions. The 'one-size fits all' solution just didn't work. It never had. Rick smiled as he saw recognition and delight break across their faces. After getting reacquainted hugs, he settled down onto the carpet with the kids, foregoing the chair and opened the pages to an adventure.

He walked out of PS 86 into the bright sunshine, but it was dull to Rick. He had just left shining eyes and brightly lit imaginations. He loved those kids. They appreciated his time, were polite and considerate. He thought about the amount of unfiltered love he felt and wondered, not for the first time, how society could label them so off-handedly. He shook his head and then grinned sheepishly, realizing he had been walking in the wrong direction, and turned to go home.

* * *

For the second time this week, he had excused himself from coming into the precinct by phone. If Kate didn't know better, she would swear he had a girlfriend. The thought caught her off guard. There was a sickening tightness in her chest and a lump in her throat. What was that? The thought of Richard Castle with a girlfriend never bothered her before. Had her feelings toward the writer change? She assessed herself. No, she had tried to convince herself that there were no extraordinary feelings. She sighed; no, it just was not true. She cared about him, more. He had wormed his way into her space and her heart and damn it, she liked having him there. Now he was gone all the time and she did not like it. Kate stared into space as she thought about her missing partner.

"Beckett…Yo, Beckett!"

She focused her eyes on Javi. "Yeah."

"Where were you?"

"Oh, just thinking." Her eyes inadvertently landed on Castle's vacant chair.

Esposito didn't miss it. "Uh huh. Any idea where he's been going?"

Kate frowned, "no, uh, no and I, uh…who?"

Esposito made a face that was somewhere between disbelief and confusion. "Castle," he shook his head.

"Castle? Why…why would I be thinking about him? Moreover, why would I worry about where he has been going? It's none of my business. After all,"

"He's a volunteer consultant." Ryan had walked over to her desk at the right time and he and Espo finished her sentence together. They had heard it before. They slapped each other's palms and their own chests at the same time. Kate rolled her eyes. She looked at his chair again, grinning, thinking he would have thought that was funny.

"Criminy, Beckett, call him."

"Don't you two have anything better to do?"

She might have been conducting a symphonic orchestra, as they answered in unison, "no." Another eye roll. She picked up her phone and pressed the icon for his number.

* * *

Every eye was riveted on his face. Eyes that normally would be darting to and from various stimuli, little things like the click of a second hand on the clock or the reflection of light from a passing automobile, but he kept them focused: their imaginations stretching and growing with each turn of the page. His deep baritone resonated with the words of Chris Van Allsburg's _Jumangi_

"_The lion roared so loud it knocked Peter right off his chair. The big cat jumped to the __floor. Peter was up on his feet, running through the house with the lion a whisker's length behind. He ran upstairs and dove under a bed. The lion tried to squeeze under, but got __his head stuck. Peter scrambled out, ran from the bedroom, and slammed the door __behind him."_

Castle's phone rang. He made a face, mouthed "sorry" to Susannah, and moved to silence it. It was Beckett. He sighed, "I'm sorry, kids, I have to take this. It's my other job." He forlornly watched their faces morph back to the here and now. "Damn it," he thought as he walked to the hallway.

"Castle."

"Hey Castle."

"Beckett?"

Silence. He checked the phone to make sure he hadn't dropped the call.

"Is there something going on?"

"Well," a sigh, "not a body or anything like that."

"Okay, um, I'm kind of in the middle of something. What do you need, Beckett?"

"Oh, God, of course you are. It's stupid really. Um, never mind. I'm sorry to have bothered..."

"It's not a bother," he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Look, if you need me, you know I'm there, but if it's between watching Ryan and Esposito in a beard growing contest..."

"We heard that, bro." Espo cut in.

Rick shook his head. "Anyway, if it's between hanging out waiting for something to happen and being here, I'll have to choose here, right now."

"No, you're right. Just, um, where are you?"

Rick drew in a breath and held it as he thought about it. This was his very own private volunteer work. He had not shared his involvement with anyone. Not even his mother. He could tell they missed him and that brought warmth to his heart, but did he want everyone knowing?

"Look, I'll see you tomorrow and if we don't catch a body, maybe I'll introduce you to the people I've been with."

"Okay, just, you're okay, right? I mean, you don't need…"

"Beckett, I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow."


	2. Of Coffee and Super Heroes

**A/N- Thanks for all of the great reviews and comments about this story. Kudos to those of you who spotted the NF Easter Egg. There's another in this installment. Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

**The Commitment**

**Chapter 2**

**Of Coffee and Super Heroes**

"The dude is into something he shouldn't be." Esposito backed his rolling desk chair another foot and expertly shot the wadded up piece of paper into the trash can he and Ryan had set out. "Two, count 'em, two," he waved two fingers at Ryan, "more points."

Ryan grimaced and backed his chair up even with his partner's. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He aimed and then turned to Espo, "Man, you don't really believe that, do you?" He tossed his paper basketball and muttered, "Dammit," as it skittered under his desk.

"I don't know what to believe. I mean the dude attaches himself to our squad for," he made air quotes with his fingers, "research and we can't get rid of him and now, with whatever he's up to, we can't even find him?" He backed up again and shot. "That's two more."

Ryan shook his head and said, "I think we should take him at his word. I don't think he's doing anything illegal…"

Espo cut him off, amused, "Maybe immoral." Ryan smiled, his Irish eyes sparkling as he and his best friend performed a complicated fist bump. They both liked Castle. They liked his lifestyle. They liked hanging out with someone with his lifestyle. It would never happen on a cop's salary. Sometimes they took too much delight in knocking his ego down a peg, but generally, they liked having a guy around who happened to be a best-selling author who also happened to bring all of the perks such status enjoys. Especially the Ferrari, oh, and the Knicks tickets.

"Maybe we should follow him." Esposito said, fishing for his partner's opinion.

Ryan shook his head, "Nah," he aimed again and made it. "Woo hoo! No, I don't think we should get involved with that."

"Involved in what?" Beckett came back to her desk from the records room with a stack of files. She turned to see them hastily picking up paper balls off the floor, and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, can't you find something useful to do? Maybe you should get involved with whatever you were talking about."

"Um, we were wondering about Castle?" Ryan approached her desk as if she were his favorite teacher.

She scowled, "What about him?" Ryan retreated.

"Beckett, where is he?" Espo's curiosity was killing him. It's part of what made him a great investigator.

She regarded him. If she were honest with herself, she would have to admit that she had wondered the same thing. "Tell you what; if he comes in today, why don't you just ask him."

"If he comes in." Espo walked back to his desk, sat down and spun in his desk chair. She turned her attention back to the files.

* * *

"Wow." His smooth baritone startled her out of her concentration. She hadn't noticed him come in, sit down or even the coffee he placed on her desk. "What are you reading? It must be fascinating."

"Hey Castle, yeah, sorry, it is actually. Cold cases."

"Any likely candidates for our expertise?" At her look he quickly added, "Well your expertise and my, uh, my wild and inappropriate theories?"

"Well, yeah, actually. There is a couple." Her voice trailed off. She looked up at him and reticently asked, "So, where have you been?"

"Beckett," he began as he squinted, "why is it so important? I told you it was book stuff."

"I don't know, Castle, it's just, well you're here all the time and now, you're not. I just m-"

He sat up straighter in his seat. "Missed me?" His face instantly transformed. It was a mixture of delight, joy, and mischief.

"No," she said, scowling, "I just mean that I don't know what to make of it. You're kind of keeping whatever you're doing to yourself and you never do that Castle, you pretty much share everything." She released the rest of her breath and stole a glance in his direction.

He was not buying it. She could tell because of the shit-eating grin threatening to burst onto his lips. Up until then it was only pulling the corners of his mouth up and crinkling the corners of his eyes.

"Why can't you just admit that you missed me? That you enjoy having me around. That I bring a certain quality to the investigations."

"Holy crap, Castle, did you get a little ego boost today? Was she a blonde or a brunette?" She immediately regretted her words and wished she could pull them back into her mouth. What was it about him that made her spout disdain uncontrollably? She could usually filter her thoughts, but when they traded verbal jabs, she couldn't ever see that line. The one she continually crossed. The casual observer would not have seen the flicker of hurt cross his face, but she did. "Oh. Castle, I, I didn't mean anything-"

"It's okay Detective." He used her title. Kate knew this was deliberate. It was his way of distancing himself from her taunts. He regarded her, the effect of her thoughtless words still evident in his eyes. "Let's take a look at one of those cases."

They worked the cold case all morning. Their approach was to treat the murder that happened over a decade ago as if it were fresh. They set up a murder board and timeline. The challenge was the evidence. Nothing was fresh; they had to go on written witness statements, as most people's memories became unreliable after a relatively short period of time. The case they picked to work was the murder of a young man named Harold Jordan. It had been attributed to gang violence, but that didn't sit right. It didn't fit his story. Castle dove right in, fascinated by the challenge and piecing together a puzzle where they didn't have all the pieces. Kate observed him, considering all aspects, creating a story from the evidence and conjecture. The twenty-two year old had never been in trouble, didn't have a rap sheet, had just graduated and begun a new job. Nothing to indicate any ties to gangs or gang violence. He poured over the family members and friends' statements and made notes.

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "I'm going for some coffee and to stretch my legs. Do you want some?"

"No, thanks. I'm going to call Jordan's roommate."

He knew that would still be a difficult conversation, so he offered, "I can stay, if you'd like, and wait."

"No, Castle thanks. I've got it."

"Okay, find out if he ever went by the nickname: Hal." She stared blankly at him. "Oh come on, Jordan? Hal can be short for Harold. Hal Jordan? Ya know, the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan?" Jeez, Beckett, you disappoint me." He stood up shaking his head.

"Hal Jordan A.K.A. Green Lantern was DC. Clearly the inferior comic publishing organization," she deadpanned.

His eyebrows shot up but then he clutched his hands over his heart. "You wound me, Beckett." He grabbed his jacket and headed to the elevator, feigning injury and death until the doors closed.

* * *

He jogged down the steps of the precinct, thinking about the morning, it was eleven. He turned left, headed toward the little coffee shop just down the block. It was a newer place, but Rick had been attracted to it because of its name. When it opened, besides being a place to try coffee, he just had to meet the owners who had named their coffee shop 'The Mugging' because of its close proximity to the precinct. The coffee turned out to be good and the owners, a married couple, John and Sharon Donnelly, were salt of the earth type of people. Great characters with a terrific sense of humor.

He opened the door and his presence was announced with a jangling of bells. John looked up from the espresso machine he was cleaning. "Hey Sharon," he called to his wife, "our long lost writer is back." He grinned at Rick, extending his hand. Rick readily shook it as he returned his smile.

John's wife poked her head out of the back room. "I'll be right out." She was operating the roaster.

Castle asked, "How are things going? Looks like you've found customers." He was nearly tackled as Sharon came from the back room and gathered the writer in a bear hug. Rick returned her embrace and breathed in the heavenly scent of roasted coffee beans.

John made a face, "Oh man, stop smelling my wife," He winked and broke into a grin.

"Can't help it. A beautiful woman throws herself at me _and_ smells like coffee? I don't think I could pass that up."

John moved back behind the counter. "Your usual?"

Castle pressed his lips together as he considered, "yeah, thanks, that'll be great." He looked around the shop. It was simple and clean. The coffee shop was small but attractively decorated with knick-knacks, personal family photos, and rustic signs with witticisms. Rick's favorite: _'Unsupervised Children Will be Given a Double Espresso and a Kitten'_ There were a few other patrons populating the tables and booths, but not as bustling as the coffee shop's rush hours; between five and eight in the morning and right around two p.m.

John spoke as he fixed Rick's latte. "Things are good. I can't believe how much coffee we go through." At Castle's questioning eyebrows he added, "It's not a bad thing, just wow."

"New Yorkers like their coffee," Sharon said as she came back from bussing a table. "Thank goodness it's a legal drug."

Castle chuckled as John handed him his coffee. He lifted it in salute. "Here, here." He brought the cup down to his mouth, breathed in the robust aroma, smiled, and took a cautionary sip. "Perfect, thanks."

John nudged Sharon and acknowledged Castle with a sideways nod, "Case in point."

Sharon admonished him, "Leave him alone, we don't want our only famous patron to find somewhere else to get his fix." Her eyes were dancing and her smile spilled sunlight to the entire shop.

The door jangled again and Castle glanced in the direction of the sound. He sputtered the sip he just took and said, "Susannah, what are you doing up town?" He moved toward her and gave her a hug.

"Oh, Rick! I didn't expect to see you today. I had some business with the library," she said with a grin.

"Have you been in here before?"

"No, I'm not usually in this neck of the woods."

"Well, Susannah, this is John and Sharon," he indicated the baristas, "Donnelly. They own the joint and keep my caffeine addiction in check. They're great and so is their coffee. John and Sharon, this is Susannah Hamilton. She's a special needs teacher, an inspiration and a super hero to me and several of my friends."

She ordered and said, "drink your coffee, Rick. I think you really need some of that caffeine." Susannah's whole face radiated glee for a moment but was replaced by, what, he wondered.

"Man, I can't catch a break," he held up his hands in surrender. "John, I've got this," he handed him a fifty and walked away. He glanced back and winked. "Susannah? Would you care to sit?"

"Um, sure. You didn't have to buy me a coffee."

"I had my wallet out anyway." He charmed.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, anytime." He searched her face. "So, what's a nice teacher like you doing in a coffee joint like this?"

"Hey," John protested. He threw a towel in Rick's direction.

Sharon came by the table, picked up the towel, and deposited two blueberry muffins in its place.

Rick said, "Thanks Sharon," and passed the plate to Susannah. He gave her his full attention. "What's going on?"

Her gaze fell to the tabletop, "Everything is so up in the air." She looked directly into his eyes. "I can still count on you, right? I mean, even if there's, um, difficulties."

"Susannah," he assured, holding her gaze, "I gave you my word. I don't back out of a commitment."


	3. Jealousy, Infighting & Vultures

**A/N - Hi Everyone - Thanks for all the wonderful words of encouragement & your ideas on where this could go. This chapter is mostly set-up, so not a lot of action. Hope you like it!**

* * *

**The Commitment**

**Chapter 3**

**Jealousy, Infighting & Vultures**

Beckett hung up the phone. Harold Jordan's roommate offered no more insight than his witness statement given eleven years prior. Harold was home, doing some research for work, decided to go for a walk and ended up dead. She did learn one new thing: he was indeed called Hal by his friends. She smiled. Castle would appreciate that. Castle. She looked at her father's watch. He had been gone for over an hour. Confusion followed by panic inched its way into her throat. She pursed her lips and scowled.

Ryan walked by her desk but then backed up and asked, "You okay, Beckett?" Esposito's ears perked up and he got up and walked over to Beckett's desk.

"Um, yeah, um Ryan," she clenched her jaw muscles, eyeing them both suspiciously.

"But," he prompted.

"Well, it's Castle," she began. Ryan exchanged a knowing look with Espo.

"What about writer-boy? Where did he go anyway?" Espo looked around the bullpen.

She sighed and then filled them in. "He went to stretch his legs and get some coffee."

"Have you tried…" Espo began.

"…calling him?" Ryan finished.

"Calling? Um, no, I mean I don't have anything new on the case." She made work of smoothing her hands on her pants.

Esposito shook his head. "Beckett, it's okay to let the dude know you are, um, concerned that he's not back yet."

"Well, I'm not concerned," she quickly backtracked away from that idea. "I'm just, uh; I um, just want to continue on the case and wanted to give him the opportunity of helping."

"Uh, huh," he responded, still shaking his head and now, pursing his lips.

"Javi, I'm hungry," Ryan suddenly exclaimed as he shrugged into his jacket. "Let's get out of here."

"I'm right behind you, bro." He grabbed his jacket. "Beckett, you comin'?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"You want us to bring something back?"

"Um, no, no I'm not hungry"

She watched them get on the elevator having an animated discussion on where to go to lunch. She smiled and shook her head. Her team kept her entertained.

The boys got outside and Esposito turned right at the end of the steps, but Ryan turned left.

"Dude, this way."

Esposito, clearly confused, said, "I thought were going for burgers."

Ryan shook his head. "Nah, look you saw her up there. She is worried about Castle, but won't admit it."

"You got that right. What's the big deal?"

"Yeah, so anyway, let's take a little walk in the direction of that new coffee place Castle likes.

"I don't think they sell burgers."

Ryan rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I know. I meant that we should check to see if Castle is still there."

"Oh, I gotcha," he nodded, "Maybe we can figure out the mystery of where he's been going, too."

Ryan grinned a toothy grin. "Mystery, mystery writer, I see what you did there." He held his fingers up and his partner, also grinning, gladly fed his birds.

* * *

He was genuinely concerned now. Susannah Hamilton was normally a formidable woman. She fought for her kids, gave them a chance when the system seemed to forget about them. Rick looked at the woman he admired so much seated across the table from him and worried. Susannah's eye were downcast, evident unease and worry in the slump of her shoulders and the way she wrung her hands. He reached out and took her hands. It was a risk. Susannah had never been a touchy-feely kind of person. They enjoyed a great working relationship. There had never been anything except an occasional hug between them.

She lifted her eyes, brimmed with tears.

"What? Susannah, what is it?" Rick asked quietly.

She drew a shuddered breath, "The program, they're shutting us down."

"Down? How can they shut you down? Aren't you a part of the curriculum?" He shot the questions at her quickly.

"Um, yes, and no. It's complicated." He looked confused so she continued. "The program continues only if we continue to get grant money."

"Well, if money's the problem," he began.

"No," her expressed softened and she smiled, "No that's not the only thing. I know you've offered in the past and if it were the only obstacle, I'd take your money in a heartbeat."

He waited but her eyes had dropped back to the table. "Susannah, what are the other problems?"

Another big sigh, "Damn politics, infighting, jealousy and... Oh, it's a mess."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

She continued, "why can't we just have a program that tries to help kids where everyone doesn't try to get in on it, and take credit when it starts looking like it's working?", frustration was seeping from her now in waves. "I mean, why? Why do they have to attack you personally and try to bring you down?"

Rick was thoroughly confused, "Attack," he began, but he read her face warning him not to ask. He made a mental note to follow up. "Okay, what can I do? You know I have some connections, city hall and don't scoff too quickly at the money."

She squeezed his hands. "Thank you, Rick, but I don't think throwing money at it will make the vultures go away."

"Hm, it'll just attract more vultures," he finished. He furrowed his brows. "Okay, let's work it. What were you doing at the library?"

"I was looking up legal recourses."

He cocked his eyebrow and grinned his lopsided grin. "I've got just the guy," he said and pulled out his phone.

* * *

Ryan casually walked past the front of the coffee shop. He glanced in the window. Esposito waited until Ryan was past the window to begin his own reconnaissance. He slowed his cadence as he got closer, stopped to admire the window display, and spied Castle holding hands with a woman in the back of the shop. He met Ryan on the other side of the shop.

"Yo, did you see Castle?"

"Yeah."

"So, it _is_ a girlfriend. I told you it was something immoral." He grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Wow, for a seasoned homicide detective you sure did make some pretty big assumptions based on what we just saw," Ryan said as he shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the window.

"Man, I know what I saw," Esposito said as he channeled his best Lanie impersonation. "Castle, in the coffee shop, holding hands with a babe."

"It did look like a serious conversation. So what do we do?"

"Do? I don't know about you, but I'm gonna milk this for everything I can get."

"I don't know, Javi. I mean the man is entitled to a social life." He did not voice the implied 'He's not getting one with Beckett,' that they both knew the writer was interested in pursuing. The only one who didn't recognize it was Beckett.

"Entitled? Dude, you've seen his social life. It's all over page six. Nah, he doesn't get a free pass. The man said he was doing book stuff. I don't know about you, but my books don't look like that."

"Do you even own a book?"

"Not the point. Why didn't he just tell us he was, not doing book stuff, but doing fun stuff? I mean he has had other girlfriends and he hasn't hidden them."

Ryan was thoughtful. "Maybe she is involved with something, um, less than legal." They were weaving a complicated tale, trying to make sense out of the evidence they had discovered.

Esposito shook his head. "You know what? I'm just going to go and ask him," and he started back to the door.

* * *

"Thanks, Jerry," he said into his phone. "Good. Yeah," he looked at his watch, "How about tomorrow morning?" He shot the question, 'Okay?' to Susannah with his eyes. She nodded her consent and he continued, "Yeah, we both can meet you then. Great!" He hung up. "It's all set."

"I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you for this. I mean, I'm sure you have better things to do." She murmured as she thoughtfully studied the brightly colored tablecloth.

Frustration and affront flashed across his face followed by a long-suffering understanding. People always assumed the worst, most base things about his motives or, at the very least, that he wanted compensation of some sort. He drew in a breath and then he smiled, "This is my pleasure. You know how much I love those kids." He shrugged as they stood up. Suddenly he had an armful of Susannah.

* * *

Beckett stared at his chair. "Oh, this is ridiculous," she said to no one in particular. She picked up her cell phone and pressed his number. It went straight to voicemail. She listened to his message, "_Hi, you've reached Richard Castle, lucky you._" She rolled her eyes and disconnected, grabbed her coat, and headed out.

* * *

Esposito opened the door; it jangled catching the attention of John and Sharon who looked up simultaneously. Ryan, who stopped to tie his shoelace, looked up as he was standing to see Beckett not more than a couple of feet away. "Beckett," he said a little unnecessarily loudly. "I thought you weren't hungry."

She stopped with a puzzled look on her face. "I thought you were going to get burgers."

"Oh well, we decided we wanted some coffee."

She closed and opened her eyes. "You don't drink coffee." She opened the door. It jangled obligatorily.

"I, uh, I am thinking of taking it up." He floundered. He wasn't convincing anyone. She gave him one last scathing look and entered the coffee shop.

Sharon, taken aback by the number of people at this time of day, said, "Well, uh, welcome! Can I get you something?" But, all three of the partners' attention was drawn to Richard Castle in the embrace of a beautiful young woman. A woman much younger than he.

"Castle?" Kate stared. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't the scene before her.

Castle hastily untangled himself from Susannah, who was uncharacteristically exhibiting signs of bashfulness. "Beckett? Boys? What are all of you doing here?" He asked quickly.

Ryan broke the silence. "Well, Castle, you said you were going to get coffee over an hour ago…" He furrowed his brow, there really wasn't any excuse.

Esposito jumped in, "Yeah, uh, we were worried."

Castle regarded them through narrowed eyes. "Since when?" He could tell that no answer was forthcoming. He shook his head. Beckett looked like she wanted to run away or hide in a deep hole or run away and hide in a deep hole. "Actually," he continued, "I'm glad you're here. I'd like to introduce you to somebody."

"Castle, this is really none of our business," Kate said dismissively, "you don't own us an explanation or…"

"Beckett," he cut her off, "you've been so curious," he indicated Ryan and Esposito, "along with the Bobsy twins. So since we're all here, it's a good time to let you know with whom I've been spending my time."

Espo offered, "Well Castle, if this is your new girlfriend, dude, she's hot." He held out his hand for Ryan or Castle to feed the birds, but neither one complied. "What?"

Castle cocked an eyebrow and said, "Susannah, I apologize about that."

"No Rick, I've been accused of worse things," she said, her eyes twinkling and a grin playing upon her lips. She wrung her hands nervously.

Castle smiled back at her. He puckered his lips and introduced everyone. "Susannah Hamilton, may I introduce Detectives Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito and Kate Beckett." He grinned at her, "my day job." She immediately smiled as if they were sharing an inside joke. He turned to his three associates and explained, "Susannah runs a program through PS 86 for-"

"Really Castle, you don't owe us any details," Beckett said, cutting him off.

Castle pursed his lips. "I don't mind. I told you it was book stuff." The boys were nodding. "It's just not my book stuff. Susannah runs a reading program for special needs kids. I volunteer for her and generally try to not be in her way."

Susannah slapped him playfully on the arm. Beckett raised an eyebrow. Susannah clarified, "You could never be in my way, Rick." She addressed the three detectives, "he's gracious enough to come and read to the kids for me and he lends a hand where ever he can. The kids really look forward to story time." Beckett kept her eyes on Castle. Did he actually look embarrassed?

Castle stopped her and held up a hand. "But, it's not about me; it's about making sure the kids have access to reading materials." His eyes and whole face lit up as he talked about the kids.

"Well, I think we've taken up enough time here," Beckett began, "we really need to get back to the precinct."

"Um, yeah, we were done here, right Susannah?" She nodded. "I'll text you my attorney's address and I'll see you tomorrow." Beckett, Espo and Ryan had started for the door. Castle stopped and gave Susannah another hug and then took her hands in his. "We'll figure it out. The program will not close. I promise." He escorted her to the door. "John, Sharon, thanks. See you soon." They waved to him as he exited.

Susannah bid them goodbye and Castle and the three detectives headed back to the precinct. Castle was quietly contemplating his conversation with Susannah when Beckett stopped abruptly and turned to Castle. "I think it's nice. What you're doing for those kids."

"Yeah, bro," Espo agreed. "Why do you need to see an attorney?"

Castle sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Well that's a story. One that I might just need your help figuring out."


	4. One Size Does Not Fit All

**A/N - Sorry for the delay. I'm having a little trouble deciding where the plot will go for this little story. Help me out in your comments. Throw those ideas. If not, well you know me, someone will probably die or get maimed or kidnapped. Please throw me a line! I'm trying not to make this one dark. ;-)**

**The**** Commitment**

**Chapter 4**

**One Size Does Not Fit All**

"Susannah seems nice." She tried. "Castle," then again, only louder, "Castle!"

His eyes snapped back into focus. "Mmhm," he slowly came back from where ever he was, "Oh, sorry. Did you say something?"

"Look Castle, if you don't want to be here…"she said for the fourth time since they'd come back.

"No, no it's not…Sorry Beckett, I'm a little preoccupied."

"Susannah?"

"Um, yeah."

"She seems like a nice girl."

Seeing her expression, he felt the need to clarify. "It's not, I mean we're not. I just help her out, honest, that's all." He looked around. "Where did the boys go?"

She gawked at him incredulously, "Burgers? You gave them your order and money, remember?"

"Must have been on auto-pilot," he said studying his shoes.

The four of them returned from the coffee shop to the precinct. Kate and Castle started work on Harold Jordan's murder. "A.K.A. Hal," Castle said, rubbing his hands together, "that's so cool." Kate showed him the current statement from his roommate and he read it. It looked as if he really wasn't paying any attention and he handed it back to her. That elicited the first of the 'if you don't want to be here' speeches.

"Seriously, Beckett, I'm good." He closed and opened his eyes slowly. He snatched the witness statement back from her.

"What?"

"Where's the original?"

"What, Martin's statement?"

"Yeah, and the CSU report."

She dug them out of the case folder and handed them to him. She watched him reread the originals. She made a mental note to get him to teach her how to speed read. He picked up the second, read it, and closed his eyes.

Kate waited approximately ten seconds. "Castle. Castle? Rick, what is it?"

He opened his eyes and cocked his head towards her. He grinned. "Martin's the killer."

"Wait, what?"

"In his original statement, Martin said that Harold was home, doing research, decided to go for a walk and ended up dead."

"Yeah."

"Short, sweet and to the point."

"Okay."

"The statement you just took today was more involved. Hal," he winked, "was home, eating tacos, got a phone call, decided to go for a walk, and ended up dead."

She stared at him.

"Don't you see Beckett? Witnesses usually forget things after, what forty-eight hours?" She nodded. "How did Martin forget to mention a phone call and tacos the first time around? He didn't. I mean really, who remembers what was for dinner yesterday, let alone eleven years ago. He had time to embellish his story. He made it up this time as a believable catalyst to get Hal out of the apartment. However, he never really left. He was killed there and dumped in the alley."

"But CSU…"

"Never went over their apartment. The detectives at the time told them it was unnecessary to waste time there. They had a crime scene, but there wasn't enough blood at the scene." If you get a warrant, I'll bet you still find blood in that apartment. Nonetheless, the killer's still Martin. Why else would he make that up? He's had time to think about it. To fix his original story." He ended with a self-satisfied grin. "Shoddy. I didn't see anything about his alibi in the file, either."

"What about motive?" She asked.

"To whom did he get himself married?"

She grabbed the folder and looked up Hal Jordan's girlfriend's name. "Shut the front door!"

If possible, his grin was wider and more smug. "Yeah, I know" he bit his lip, "it's better than Temptation Lane."

"Mrs. Julia Martin. How do we know they weren't in it together?"

"We don't, established on the original," he coughed a fake cough that sounded remarkably like 'crappy', "detecting, she alibied out. I'd recheck it, but Trevor Martin is the dude whether he has an accomplice or not."

The elevator dinged. Ryan and Espo stepped out with a big bag of lunch. Castle smiled and escorted Kate to the break room.

* * *

The four shared hamburgers and camaraderie. Kate was happy with the team. She quietly looked around at her boys and knew that she could count on any of them to have her back.

"Yo, so Castle," Javi prompted while sucking down the remnants of his shake, "what's the story with the teacher babe?"

Castle made a face. "She's just a friend."

"Dude, she's hot." He cocked his eyebrow expectantly.

"Espo, she's also just a few years older than Alexis." He shuddered. "No thanks, stuff like that never ends well."

"Sounds like the voice of experience Castle." Beckett piped in.

Castle murmured, "Yeah, something like that," and pushed the last of his fries around in the puddle of ketchup, apparently deep in thought. Kate caught that she stepped over the line again. You could read it in his face. She had never had so much trouble gauging someone before. In her defense, she rationalized, if you took all of the publicity, his divorces, page six, not to mention his almost-arrests, Castle did not exactly come across like an upstanding citizen. She looked across the table at his slightly hang dog expression. He didn't make sense to her. She examined the evidence. According to the articles, pictures, and tabloids, he was the embodiment of the quintessential playboy. But then take the way he was with his daughter, the friendship he'd developed with the boys and his discomfort at her jibes about that lifestyle. He frustrated all her efforts at figuring him out. And this association with the teacher. What was that all about? Richard Castle, millionaire, playboy, womanizer but a really nice volunteer?

She stopped her musings and asked, "Castle?"

"Yeah?" He raised his head and looked her directly in the eyes.

"Beyond Susannah being younger and," she shot a look at Esposito, "hot, what is it you do with her?"

"I, uh, I told you. I volunteer for her program." He sighed. He was used to most people having the wrong impression of him. It helped to sell the books. But, it was frustrating when the people you have worked with for a while now, still buy into that façade.

"She said you read." Ryan offered.

"Yeah, when I can. The kids are great," he said his face transformed and glowed with excitement. "It's a terrific program, she was really getting through to the kids, but…" his voice and mood dropped off.

"What?" Ryan asked. Out of the three detectives, Ryan was the least experienced, the youngest, and the least jaded. He'd listened to Castle for hours, a captive and willing audience.

"They're trying to shut her program down." He had all three of them listening now. "We're going to meet with my attorney tomorrow to see what we can do legally to stop it. It's just…" He let his words drop. Absent-mindedly he ran his hand through his hair.

"Castle, you okay?" Beckett asked. He ran a hand over his face.

"The kids just need a chance. Some extra time to process and people they know they can trust, that they can depend upon, people who don't tell them how different or weird or broken they are."

Esposito who had been quiet, had a thoughtful look on his face and asked, "Is there something wrong with them?"

Castle raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. Just as he was about to respond, Espo read his expression and said, "No, bro, I didn't mean like, um. I mean are they sick or something?" He finally got it out, however inelegantly.

Castle smiled. "No, they're not sick. They've all been labeled."

Beckett chimed in, "Labeled?"

"Yeah, plastered with a label of some form of a disorder or another." At their confused looks he gave examples, "like, um, ADD or ADHD, Asperger's, PDD, Autism. Labels. Susannah's methods don't try to squeeze every kid with a label into the one-size fits all education system. No kid fits or should ever be forced to fit into any broad sweeping classification, let alone kids that look at the world just a little outside of acceptable norms. That type of narrow-mindedness stifles creativity, invention, and stilts the capabilities of the human mind." His voice rose slightly revealing the depth of his passion for his subject.

When Castle stopped speaking, the break room suddenly became quiet. Rick studied the three faces of the detectives. Three people he admired and respected and he had rendered them silent. "Well, sorry about that. I, I should go." He started gathering the trash.

"Bro," it was Esposito, "you okay?"

Castle smiled. "Yeah, just a cause close to my heart."

Quietly, Beckett said, "Yeah, I guess so."

After lunch, they acquired a warrant to search Trevor Martin's apartment. They arrested him for murder and his wife, Hal Jordan's ex-girlfriend, Julia, for conspiracy to commit murder. Julia was the first to confess. She made a deal that ratted out her husband that would have made a black widow proud. Uniforms took the pair to holding and Castle and Beckett made their way out to the bullpen.

"How did it go?" Ryan asked.

"It's Miller time," Castle said while fist bumping Ryan. He looked at his watch. "Anybody up for a celebratory round of drinks?" He waited two beats and continued, "On me."

"Castle," Captain Montgomery poked his head out of his office door, "could I see you a moment?"

Looking like the kid who was called to the principal's office Castle said, "Uh, sure." He skulked across the room to the captain's office. Beckett followed.

Montgomery escorted Castle in but put a hand up halting Beckett as if she was a car to his traffic cop. "Sorry Beckett, I just need Castle," he said and closed the door.

Esposito and Ryan had walked over to her desk. "So, what's that about?" Espo indicated the one on one in the captain's office.

"It doesn't look like he's in trouble or being dressed down."

"You know they play poker together, right?" Beckett answered them. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"So, what do you think?" Espo asked.

She frowned. "What do I think about what?"

"What's your guess, Beckett?"

The two partners stood waiting at her desk expecting her to solve this latest mystery concerning Richard Castle. She inhaled and exhaled, shut her eyes and pursed her lips, all part of the torture.

"You're detectives, detect," she said, finally rolling her eyes.

They began their surveillance nonchalantly. Esposito walked by the captain's office. He reported that Castle was listening intently to what the captain was saying. Ryan took his shot. He dropped a pen, which rolled (or may have been kicked) across the bullpen. He bent down to retrieve said pen and observed Castle telling apparently, what appeared to be a hilarious story. Both scrutinized men were laughing.

He stood back up to the angry glare from Beckett. "This isn't what I had in mind."

Ryan and Espo turned and retreated to their desks and Beckett noted that they appeared to be convincingly at work. She knew they had none, nice act; she would have to watch for their performance in the future.

"Thanks, Roy, you don't know what this means," Castle said as he clasped the captain's hand. He smiled from ear to ear.

"Glad to help, Rick." Montgomery enthusiastically returned Castle's handshake.

Beckett raised an eyebrow as he sat in his chair next to her desk. "Roy? Rick?" She asked, putting extra emphasis on the K at the end of his name.

"Um, yeah," he turned a palm up, "I do play poker with him. You didn't expect me to call him Captain Montgomery as I'm winning his kids' education fund at my table, did you?"

"Oh, I guess not." She pulled her bottom lip through her teeth, "Castle? What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, Castle, that," she pointed to Montgomery's office, "little meeting, over there."

He grinned. "You're gonna love it. It'll be great. It's a surprise for tomorrow."

Sometimes, Beckett thought as she rubbed her brow, the man's enthusiasm would kill her. "You know how I feel about surprises."

"Yeah, but, you'll love this one." He looked at his watch. "So what do you say we take this party down to O'Malley's? I've got an appointment in about an hour, but we can get a quick one." He turned to Ryan and Espo, "Boys."

"Right behind you, Castle." Ryan said as he gathered his jacket.

Esposito practically ran to the elevator. "You bet bro." Homicide was rarely slow and the past few days had been taxing on him. He needed some action."

Castle held the elevator door and called, "Beckett?"

"You guys go on ahead; I've got some things to finish up here."

He looked a little crestfallen, "Until tomorrow then, Beckett."

"Yeah, bye." She waved halfheartedly as he entered the elevator. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, rolled her neck until she heard the satisfying crack of her vertebra, and mentally began preparing herself for his surprise.


	5. You Got Nuttin' On Me

**A/N - Hello everyone,**

**Finally, an update. Thanks for waiting. Thanks to Jester's Pet Oriole, southerngirl1 and TORONTOSUN for their ever present font of kind words and ideas. Thanks for the follows and favs, too. I'm glad you're enjoying this little innocuous story. Please read on and enjoy!**

**The Commitment**

**Chapter 5**

**You Got Nuttin' On Me**

Detective Kate Beckett was not a lightweight. She was the youngest woman to be promoted to Detective in NYPD history; she spoke three languages; qualified for and was excelling at Stanford's pre-law curriculum, until the murder of her mother redirected her life. She then took all of her over-achiever tendencies and applied them to her studies in criminology and to her academy training. Beckett threw herself into police work. Nothing had been handed to her; she climbed every inch. She had earned and held the respect of her team, co-workers, and supervisors. Kate Beckett was custom made for homicide. She believed in evidence, history, motive, means and opportunity. She didn't believe that people could change. She had seen too many repeat offenders to believe in any kind of sappy sugar coated rehabilitation stories. This was the problem.

Specifically, the problem was Richard Castle. His history, motives, means and opportunities all added up to some serious character concerns. The conflict that presented itself was his involvement with this teacher. Beckett couldn't understand why he was going to the lengths to make himself appear altruistic and unselfish when clearly the evidence spoke otherwise. Susannah was young and pretty and obviously into Castle. Why was he bothering to deny the evidence? She sat at her desk, her unfocused gaze aimed somewhere in the direction of the elevators, pondering his possible motives.

Kate's musings were interrupted by the elevator door as it opened. Castle strode to her desk with a cup of coffee and a smile. "Good morning Detective." His eyes and whole face reflected a vivacity and joy of life. Everything was always right, bright, and shiny in Castle land, she thought sardonically.

"Thanks," she said sipping the hot liquid, pleased that he got her favored order perfect, again. She felt it travel down to her stomach, spreading warm tendrils throughout her body as it went. She closed and opened her eyes contentedly. This ritual was another example of the enigma of Richard Castle.

He watched her make love to her coffee, amusement playing across his face. He looked around the quiet bullpen and cocked an eyebrow, "So, still, ahem, dead around here?" He ended his question with a self-satisfied grin.

"Yup, only the puns are dying," she deadpanned. He grinned, happy about their back and forth banter. It was one thing he loved about coming to the twelfth among others.

"Okaaaay. Are you busy, I mean right now?"

"I'm still cleaning and consolidating files. Why?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"Castle," Captain Montgomery poked his head out of his office door, "you have some fans waiting in the lobby for you. Should I have Sergeant Guillermo send them up? Are we set up here?"

Castle smiled, "Sure thing, Captain. I was just making sure the coast was clear up here."

Beckett rolled her eyes and turned to her captain, "Sir? If this is another publicity stunt, I would rather not participate."

"Cool your jets, Beckett, and just watch." She huffed as she straightened her chair. It was then that she noticed that Castle had walked over to the elevator, waiting to greet whatever fans were riding up.

Esposito and Ryan walked up behind her. "What's going on with Castle?" Ryan asked.

Beckett turned around to face them, "Apparently fans are on their way up," disdain and acidity laced the word fans. "Probably the flavor of the week with some sort of connection to a higher up."

"The captain seems to be on board." Esposito observed Montgomery anticipating the elevator as well.

"Yeah, well he's on board with his poker buddy." She snorted mockingly.

Esposito and Ryan exchanged a silent 'what's with her' look and they shrugged simultaneously. Their attention was drawn to the elevator when it pinged. The doors opened and Susannah Hamilton stepped out cautiously, and was met by Rick. The two crossed into an embrace to which Beckett raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Just more evidence against the volunteer explanation.

"Well, come on out." She heard Castle say. "This is where I do my other job." Beckett frowned, her curiosity got the better of her, and she could not help but look back up and lean to see inside the elevator. She wasn't the only one; the whole floor had stopped working to watch Castle's spectacle.

Castle reached his hand inside the blocked door of the elevator and when he pulled it back, it was attached to a beautiful little girl. She had large brown expressive eyes and curly untamable hair. She held onto his hand as if it were her only lifeline. Clearly, she was familiar and comfortable with him.

"Come on in, Evie. No one here will bite, well…" He tilted his head and grinned at Beckett. "Kids, come on out and we'll have a story and snacks." Susannah came prepared with a bag of snacks and a book for the dozen or so kids who came spilling out of the elevator after Castle and Evie.

Castle led them around the bullpen, introducing them to the officers and other detectives. Beckett was actually impressed that he knew everyone's name and position. He explained the work that each person did without speaking down to them or giving them too many of the unpleasant realities or details. The kids were well behaved and listened as Castle led them on his guided tour. He walked up to Beckett's desk.

"And, kids, I've saved the best for last," he said indicating his immediate twelfth family members. "This is Captain Montgomery; he's like the coolest principal that you've ever had."

"Hey, kids, "Montgomery said waving.

"And these two gentlemen are Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. They're like my brothers. They are like the wheels of our group. They do an incredible amount of work running around and chasing down leads. They're truly inspiring."

"Hey, thanks, bro," Espo said, letting Castle feed his birds.

"Yeah, thanks, Castle, "Ryan said, smiling at the kids, "that really means a lot."

He walked up to Beckett's desk. "And this, is Detective Kate Beckett," he indicated Beckett with a flourish of his hands. "She is like the smartest, most patient teacher you've ever had. Ask her anything and she'll give you an honest answer." By the time he was finished Kate could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks.

"Uh, hi kids," she self-consciously said and to Castle asked, "So, what's all this about?"

"This is Susannah's class. The kids I read to every now and then. The, uh, captain thought it would be fun for the kids to see where I helped the police."

Susannah, who had been quietly watching, stepped forward. "Oh and I truly appreciate this." She shook the captain's hand, "And I'm sure the kids do too." She shook Ryan and Esposito's hands and ended the circuit with Kate. "Detectives, Captain Montgomery, I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have this opportunity for the kids. Mister Castle always brings an element of excitement, but this has been an amazing experience for me as well as the kids." She was beaming.

"Okay, come on kids, there's lots more to see," Castle led the kids as if he were the pied piper. Beckett watched him. He was animated and silly. She could see why the kids liked him. He enlisted Ryan and Espo to help with a demonstration of interrogation and observation. He led half of the kids into the box and the other half to observation. Esposito began a complex explanation of how the box was used. Castle left the kids in observation with Ryan and entered interrogation to a sea of confused faces. He smiled. "This is where we get the bad guys to confess, here let me show you, um," he narrowed his eyes at the kids and rubbed his non-existent beard, "Andy." A smallish red headed boy with blue eyes and freckles stopped his examination of the table microphones and snapped his head up to Castle. Despite his size, Esposito could see that he was a fireball.

"Yes, Mister Rick?"

"Okay, you sit over there," he indicated the chair facing the mirror, "And I'll sit here. Jonah, don't tug on those wires, okay?" A pudgy, brown haired boy immediately stopped his exploration of the microphone wires under the table. Beckett and Montgomery entered observation in the middle of Castle's admonition. He never raised his voice, but Jonah stopped fiddling with the wires, immediately. He brought his attention back to Andy. "So Mister Finnegan, I understand you have a love of cookies, chocolate chip cookies, to be specific." Castle dipped his head and cocked an eyebrow, hardly the death stare Beckett could conjure.

"Of course I do." Andy began.

"So you admit you love the cookies; then you must have been the one who took them from Cassie's lunchbox on Tuesday, March fourth, you had motive. This is why you wanted to steal the cookies."

Andy was cool. Beckett liked this kid. "No, I don't admit anything. Everybody likes chocolate chip cookies."

"Who stole my cookies?" Cassie demanded.

Castle smiled. "Just pretend guys."

Andy cocked his eyebrow. "You got nuttin' on me copper," he said with a sneer and an exaggerated tough-guy accent. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You both go to lunch at the same time. That's called opportunity or when you committed the crime and those hands that you just hid away from me. They are called means. It's how you committed the crime."

"We have witnesses," Castle said as he silently encouraged the participation from the group. The rest of the kids were catching on.

"I saw him do it," exclaimed a girl with blonde curls, "Cassie is my best friend, and she wouldn't lie."

Beckett, Montgomery, Ryan, and Susannah all watched intently as the little drama unfolded. Their charges stood, noses pressed up against the two-way.

"I saw him, too," another excited witness cried.

Castle shook his head, "That's what we call corroboration," he shook his head, "it means you're sunk, kid." Andy and Castle sat in a staring contest; it was quiet in the room.

Finally, he looked around wild-eyed and quietly said, "You would have taken them too; they had nuts." The room exploded in applause. Castle smiled and tousled Andy's hair.

"Okay, okay. Questions?"

"Why are there microphones? Does the camera work? How many bad guys come in there?"

Castle answered all of the kids' questions in kid speak; not dumbed down, but not over their heads, either.

"Why is there a big mirror?"

"Oh, I'm really glad you asked. It's so people can watch what goes on in here."

So, there are people back there now?"

"Yeah, the rest of the class and Detective Ryan."

"Cool."

Castle smiled again. "Here, I'll show you." He pulled out his ever-present moleskin notebook and pen. "Give me a number, one to one hundred, but," and he held out his hand, "don't shout it out, 'cause they can hear you too. Whisper it." He had a half a dozen kids clambering towards his ears. He wrote down every number on a separate sheet and handed them to the kids. "Okay, I'll count to three and then you hold up your papers. "he addressed the mirror, "Ryan, have the kids write down the numbers." He smiled a please. Ryan took out his own notebook and pen. "Ready, guys, one, two, aaaannnnd three." Six hands shot into the air with Castle's hastily scribbled numbers scrawled on them. After a minute, Castle asked the mirror, "Okay?" He was answered with a knock on the glass and several 'cools' from his side. "We'll check it out in a minute. Any other questions?"

"Did Andy really steal Cassie's cookies?"

"No, I made it up because…" he dropped off expectantly.

The students on both sides of the class had apparently played that game before because they all shouted, "Because that's what you do!"

Castle beamed. "Let's go see if they can really see us." They scrambled toward the door and he led them to observation. They looked around and saw the room they were in and exchanged information with their classmates.

Susannah clapped three times and there was silence. "How about a snack?" There was a cheer. "Follow Mister Rick."

He led them to the break room. Susannah broke out the juice boxes and chocolate chip cookies. Castle crossed to the espresso machine and fixed himself a latte before settling on the black pleather sofa. Susannah thrust a book into his hands and the kids sat on the floor at his feet. He looked down at them and shook his head. They all moved back about two feet and he eased himself down to the floor. The entire exchange took place without verbal communication. He reached up for the book. It was John Grisham's _Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer._

Beckett sat on a stool by one of the tables, enthralled with this side of Castle. She had no idea. He glanced up at her a couple of times as he turned the pages. The kids sat captivated and transported. Susannah sat opposite Kate, making notes in her day planner. Ryan, Espo, and Montgomery leaned against the counter quietly taking it all in. He reached the end of a chapter and glanced at the wall clock, eleven thirty, time to get back on the bus.

He closed the book and declared, "The rest is for another day." He was greeted by a chorus of 'aws' and 'just one more chapters'. Rick smiled and said, "Nope, my butt's asleep as it is. Help me up." The kids laughed and pulled on his arms, tugged on his belt, tried pushing from under his arms. He winked at Beckett. He was dead weight.

Susannah, having seen this before, broke in saying, "We're just going to have to leave Mister Rick on the floor. Somebody will clean him up." Her voice tinkled along with the kids' laughter. "Say goodbye and thank you to the captain and detectives, please." The kids dutifully made the rounds and ended with piling hugs on Rick who was still seated on the floor. Susannah mimicked a call me toward Rick and then led her brood out to the bullpen and into the elevator. They gave a final wave as the doors closed.

Castle got back up off the floor, rubbing his backside. "It really is asleep," he said, gritting his teeth to the boys.

"Castle, that was something else, those kids really love you." Espo said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"And all those kids have some sort of behavioral, um…"

"Diagnosis, Ryan. Yeah, thanks, I really love them too. They're good kids." Beckett observed him, still. His eyes betraying a depth of emotion that she did not think he was capable of outside of Alexis.

"Yeah Castle," she added, "You really connected with them. It was great the way you got down on their level, became one of them."

"Thanks, Beckett, except for my ass falling asleep, it's not hard to become one of them." He scrunched up his face and rubbed his derrière.

"What do you mean?"

He smiled his devilish lop-sided grin. "I am one of them."


	6. A Beautiful Day in This Neighborhood

**A/N - Here we are again. Glad you made it back. **

**My heartfelt thanks to all of you who have favorited and followed and especially those of you who have taken the time to comment. You really make my day.**

**Now, what was I saying about this being an innocuous story? ;-)**

* * *

**The Commitment**

**Chapter 6**

**A Beautiful Day in This Neighborhood**

At one-forty-five that afternoon, Castle waited for Susannah in the lobby of the Bowman Building where his attorney's office was located. He sat on a bench by the elevator, playing a round of mini-golf on his phone.

"Mr. Rodgers?" He raised his eyes and shook his head. Susannah was pleasing to the eyes. She was fresh out of school by only a couple of years, tall, confident. She had sparkling eyes that changed color depending on what she was wearing or how the light reflected off them. Her hair was a light brown with auburn highlights. She was easy to like with a ready smile and a quick wit. Her students loved her and she them. When he had first met her, he entertained the possibility that if he were a few years younger or she a few years older, he may have been tempted to move their relationship to that of a more personal nature. He shook off any notions in that direction when he did the math. Not the math between Susannah and Rick's ages, but between Susannah and Alexis. His teenaged daughter was less than ten years younger than Susannah was.

"Really? When will you just call me Rick?"

Susannah Hamilton had taken her class back to school, clocked out for the day, gone home to change her clothes, and met him downtown all in less than two hours.

"It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, Mr. Rodgers." She beamed at him. He grimaced.

"That's one of the reasons I changed my name. If I had a dollar for every time some kid said that in school, wait, I probably do." He smirked.

"I'm just feeling so great, so optimistic. Oh Rick, the kids could not stop talking about the trip. All the way, back on the bus and back into the classroom. I think we're going to have twelve new cops in a few years."

He pouted. "What? No writers?"

She tilted her head. "I think you may have recruited Andy Finnegan, you know," she arched an eyebrow, "after he gets out of the big house."

He winced. "The big house? Wow, really cliché."

"I guess it's a good thing that I'm not the writer."

"I guess so," he smiled again. "Okay, you ready?"

"Yeah, I think so. I brought my planners and the correspondence from the district and the school board. I'll probably get fired, one way or the other, but I just have to fight for the program."

"I'll do everything I can, you know that."

"I know," she said quietly.

"You need to remember it." He narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion. "Are you sure you don't have a learning disorder of some sort?"

She playfully slapped him on the arm, smiled, and peeked from under her lashes. "Maybe you just need to pay better attention."

"Really? Isn't that some form of harassment? A medical diagnosis used against me."

She smirked. "You have a psychiatric diagnosis," she said as she considered him, "maybe more than one. Maybe some that hasn't been diagnosed yet."

"Miss Hamilton, you wound me." He clasped his hands in front of him and looked down at them. "My attorney, Mike, is a great guy," he shrugged, "he's a fan and a hell of a poker player. He also knows his stuff. I trust him with all of my legalese."

She nodded as he explained.

"Do you have any questions," he looked at his watch, "before we go up?

She shook her head and said, "None right now. I'm sure I'll have plenty later. Just," she averted her eyes again, "thanks."

"Anytime." He smiled, offered her his arm and led her to the elevators.

* * *

Castle's cryptic answer weighed heavily on Beckett's mind for the rest of the day. He excused himself once more, citing the meeting between his attorney, Susannah, and himself. The kids had been amazing. They asked questions and not inane meaningless questions either. They were insightful and in some instances, thought provoking. There were no behavioral problems. Kate could see why Castle held Susannah in such high regard. Castle and Susannah. She sighed to herself.

"Okay, Beckett?" Espo asked from his desk. Apparently, she didn't keep the sigh as much to herself as she thought.

"Yeah, I'm good," she answered. "Hey Espo, what did you think about those kids?"

"They were great!" Ryan interrupted by rolling his chair in between them.

Esposito stood, walked behind Ryan giving him a shove back towards his desk, and said, "Yeah," shaking his head, "they were. I normally don't like field trips coming in here, the kids get in the way, and they're always touching stuff."

"Kind of like Castle." Ryan rolled his chair back into the conversation.

"Yeah," Kate agreed, "kind of like Castle." It was true; the man could not not touch things. When he first started shadowing her, CSU found his fingerprints at many crime scenes. It became a tech joke: who could find Castle's prints first got a prize. Kate hadn't been amused and had threatened to remove his fingers unless he could start keeping them to himself. Crime scene contamination was not a joke. He complied by producing his own box of latex gloves about the same time he had his Kevlar vest custom made.

"You have to admit, he really has a connection with those kids," Esposito continued.

"Yeah, he really is just a big kid." Ryan had abandoned his chair and walked over to Beckett's desk. He stood above her, his gaze across the room at the top of the wall, not really seeing. "What do you think he meant when he said he was one of them?"

"Oh, well, you know," she stammered. Actually, she didn't know and Ryan's question brought her back to her musings.

Esposito weighed in. "It's pretty obvious."

His partners both turned to him, waiting for the obvious answer that had escaped them both.

Espo rolled his eyes then arched his eyebrows as he walked over to the whiteboard. He picked up a marker. In black, he drew a smiley face, except he made the eyes blue.

"Espo," Beckett began. Esposito held his hand up to her face. Ryan jumped in and wrote 'Richard Edgar Castle' under the smiley. Beckett scowled.

"Now, what do we know about our suspect?" Espo asked, "Class?"

"Best-selling author"

Ryan began the list under his name. "Check."

"Father, millionaire who takes care of his friends," Espo grinned and high-fived Ryan for that one.

"Philanthropist, alleged volunteer." Esposito looked at Beckett "Come on, Beckett, you must have something for the list."

She pursed her lips and then added, "Oh, okay, why don't we list what he does, like touch things?"

"Yeah, and he fidgets," Ryan added.

"How about he can't sit still?"

"He has an aversion to paperwork."

"He has a real connection with those kids." Esposito nodded his agreement.

"He jiggles." Beckett said.

"What?" The boys asked the question in harmony.

"His leg, he jiggles it. It's almost imperceptible, but when he's sitting, it's always moving. Esposito and Ryan exchanged glances.

Beckett drew in a deep breath. "Espo, what's the point of all of this?"

Espo smiled, "Don't you see? He's is one."

"Oh, yeah." Ryan said as realization dawned on him.

She looked back and forth between them. "What?"

"Beckett, the dude has one of those things,"

Ryan held up his finger, "Diagnosis, or actually diagnoses."

"Yeah," he continued, "the diagnoses he listed or he did at some time."

"Or something really close."

"That's why it's so important to him. That's why he said 'I am one of them.'"

"So you think Castle gives back to those kids because he's hyper or something?"

"Yeah, something."

Becket thought for a moment. It made sense. The boys had made a plausible argument. Was he annoying and immature simply to be annoying and immature or were there aspects of his personality that came along with a diagnosis? Maybe there was more to the relationship with the teacher than she first thought. Maybe she wasn't a conquest. Maybe he connected with her on a more personal level. Maybe he had shared this part of himself with her. Her phone rang and brought her out of her thoughts.

"Beckett. Okay, got it." She hung up her phone and looked back at Ryan and Esposito. "We've got a body."

* * *

Beckett gave her partners the location of the body and went down to her car. She called Castle. It was a habit now. They got a call, and then she called him. She didn't even have to think about it anymore. It was just one of the things she did, like pausing to remember that the victim was a person, first and foremost, who deserved dignity and justice. Castle did not pick up. She connected with his voicemail. She heard his smooth baritone voice egotistically congratulating the caller's luck at having reached his phone. She rolled her eyes and waited for the smug, arrogant message to end. "Hey Castle, we caught a case. Call me when you get this." She pulled out into traffic headed to the scene.

She parked in front of a deli on Bleeker Street near Lafayette. There were several patrol cars already blocking traffic. The crime scene tape had been hung around the area of the investigation. Kate saw the coroner's van and a number of evidence markers placed by the bits and pieces that may bring the victim justice. Her phone buzzed with a text. She swiped the screen and saw it was from Castle. _'Sorry, just getting out of meeting w/attorney. Will call from car.'_

She thought for a moment. She was unlikely to pick up her phone when she actually got to the crime scene, even if it was a call from Castle. She sent him a short text back giving the address. She stepped out of her car and started walking when she heard, "Detective Beckett," in his familiar baritone.

"I thought you were in a meeting," she said while turning to face him.

"I was, literally right over there." He pointed to a building two doors down Bleeker on the corner.

"Well, that was convenient." She continued toward the alley.

He followed. "I know, right?"

"Everything okay?"

He looked at her confused, and then it dawned, "Oh, the lawyer, yeah. Susannah and I met with him about the school matter and then I had to go over some book contracts with him. Thanks," he added to the officer holding the tape up for the two of them.

They approached the scene. Dr. Lanie Parrish was knelt over the body of a woman lying face down on the concrete. The body was in a small alley, not large enough for a car to pass through, but was probably used for foot traffic all the time. In fact, according to Officer Metzler, a passerby was the one who found her and called it in.

"Hey Lanie, what do we have?" Lanie Parrish was a doctor with the Office of the City Medical Examiner and Kate's best friend.

"Broad daylight, that's what we've got," she said as she shook her head. "No ID, no purse, or phone. Caucasian, mid-twenties. No watch or any other jewelry."

'So maybe a mugging gone wrong. Time of death, pretty recently?"

"Yeah, within the last hour. She was strangled, looks like some sort of rope or cord."

Castle narrowed his eyes. "Unusual M.O. for a mugger; strangulation with or without a rope. That's more often than not, premeditated. If I'm going to mug someone, I am holding a knife or a gun for the threat. After all, I just want to threaten, get the loot, and get the hell away as fast as I can. Strangulation takes a while and there's usually a lot of fighting back." He shook his head. "No way was this a mugging."

Lanie lifted the woman's straight chestnut hair off of her neck, "see the ligature marks?" They both looked at the victim's neck. Castle tilted his head to align his head with the victims.

He gasped. "Oh my God. Lanie, can you turn her over?" All of the blood had run out of his face.

"What is it Castle?" Kate asked as Lanie complied.

"Oh God," he swore when she had been rolled over.

"Castle?" She asked again as he backed away from the body and turned around at the wall. Kate had barely glimpsed at the woman at first, but given Castle's reaction, she looked again. "Oh," and let out a sigh.

"What is it, Kate?" Lanie looked between Beckett and Castle, who was currently leaning up against the wall clearly upset.

"We know her. Well, I've met her, but Castle knows her. Her name is Susannah Hamilton."


End file.
